Pheonix, popular BIOS makers, have announced a roadmap for their new computer firmware which includes support for "trusted computing" and is extensible by manufacturers. I don't like it. I won't be buying any firmware that takes away my control of the machine and gives it to, say, Microsoft. I should be able to do with my hardware whatever I can make it do. I paid for it, it's mine.

I'm in consulting, by the way, Phoenix. I'm personally responsible for selling a lot of hardware every year. Keep in mind that "trusted" architectures need to be offered alongside normal ones, or you won't be making it to my customer base. I'll build Chinese "Beige Box" machines if need be.

The notion that the computer industry will finally "get it right" and take total control of your PC and what you do with it is terrifying. If we weren't allowed to run disapproved software, everything from Napster to FreeNet to Grand Theft Auto would simply never have existed. Vote with your dollar!

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Been playing with Apple's new Mac OS X, "Panther." It's amazing. I'm now counting down the days until Microsoft steals the "Expose" feature (your monitor is full of stacked windows, press a key, and -swoosh- they're all spread out in miniature; pick the window you want and -swoosh- it's back to full size on top of the stack).

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There are moments when I find the British to be self-important snots. Then there are other moments when I understand how modern civilization got rolling. Today was one of the latter. I saw a sign at the Trafalgar Square anti-Bush protest:

"YEE-HAWWW! is NOT a foreign policy!"

I couldn't have said it better myself...

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I'm enjoying Liz Phair's new album, titled simply Liz Phair. She's still writing Liz Phair lyrics but is now embedding them in a more mainstream-pop sound, thanks to a change of producers. She's ditched Michael Penn, who can manage to make the most whimsical lyrics sound heavy and pretentious, in favor of "The Matrix." This is the duo who cooked up, among other things, Avril Levigne. Predictably, Liz's Exile in Guyville fan-base is screaming, "Sellout!"

A lot thoughtful lyrics popped out during the late 90's "alternative" uprising. Bands like Cake, Sublime, Weezer and Garbage set surprisingly creative and novel ideas to aggressive, upbeat melodies, and I ate it up. I enjoyed Liz's stuff then, but I was always waiting for her to follow the threads she started with songs like "Mesmerizing" and "Never Said" on into the alternative mainstream (wow, oxymoron).

Tracks like "Rock Me" (she's dating a much youger guy, and diggin' it) or "H.W.C." (she's got a new beauty secret every guy in high school already knows) are essentially pure Liz lyrics gift-wrapped in a modern, teenaged sound. I can just see the next generation of Liz phans sneaking in through the side door on these. It's the Big Tobacco strategy: this album hooks 'em as kids, and Whip Smart and Exile are waiting for them when they grow up.

Now that Limp Bizkit is passing for "alternative," I was afraid it might be a while before we got friendly, engaging tunes with lyrics more sophisticated than, "hit me, baby, one more time." For Liz to change her sound with so much invested is brave and risky - marks of a real artist trying to evolve. I applaud her for the effort, and, hey, it sounds pretty good, too. Pick it up.

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I've been up all night, my daughter has a cold and isn't sleeping. This should help you understand when I say that my brain is a little fogged. It is from this fuzzy point of view that I noticed something: Tinky Winky, Brak and Homestar are all related to each other (geneticists report to battle stations, please). Or they use the same voice coach. Or (eek!) maybe they're the same person, like Michael Jackson and whatshisname, David Blaine.

If you have a -lot- of free time and you're interested in making some contribution to the common good, you might try to find the lab that's popping out all these things. I'd like a six-pack of whatever secret ingredient they're using to get that voice.

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Okay, it turns out that I'm something of a liberal. By "something of a liberal," I mean a foaming, thrashing anti-conservative, with centrist leanings. From this, you can deduce that I don't like the current regime (or their corporate sponsors at Halliburton and The Carlyle Group). Occasionally (heh), I will heap abuse on them and make jokes at their expense. I'm not alone. The Wingnut Debate Dictionary lists rhetorical sins commonly committed by the Conservative media machine. Enjoy!

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Welcome. I'm trying to lead a full, rich life, and mostly succeeding. These messages from me will talk about how I manage it, and what I find along the way. Some of it will simply be stuff I like, and some will be things that really need more attention. There will probably be some overlap...

Revolutionary things like blogs make individuals a little more important, but only for a while. I'll try to keep an eye on this, and leave before your patience runs out. Here we go...

Thanks!
Rob

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